


The war takes a boy and brings a man home

by Spiria



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5734228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiria/pseuds/Spiria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sensu returns to find his father gone, but his mother and Lee are still there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The war takes a boy and brings a man home

The village was quiet as Sensu passed the main gate. Silence wasn't unusual here, though the absence of local soldiers cracking smart remarks was. But the local bullies were the least of his concerns. He focused on finding the modest house on farmland instead, trudging on familiar dirt that shifted noisily under his heavy feet.

At the farm, the livestock that recognized him either kept calm or oinked with excitement. He'd expected this: The thing about animals was that they never forgot, no matter how much a person changed.

Less than ten feet from the house, Sensu stopped when the door creaked open to reveal his mother. She sent the livestock a curious glance, then saw him. Her eyes widened and jaw fell agape at the sight of her son standing on the dirt path with a loose satchel slung over his shoulder.

"Hi, mom."

After they embraced, Sela led him inside. It was lunch time and Lee was waiting at the table with the food already prepared, but he quickly abandoned his seat to throw himself at Sensu. Lee's hair was still a right mess, but it was that toothy smile that brought out Sensu's fonder memories.

"You're back!" exclaimed Lee.

Sensu nodded. "I'm home," he said, patting Lee on the head.

Sela had made enough food to feed a family of four, so Sensu was not left wanting for food as the three of them ate together. Busy he was attempting to share a dozen tales at once, Lee finished his meal last. In the end, Sela admonished him to slow down, giving Sensu room to eat in peace.

"Okay, but you definitely need to hear this one," said Lee.

"After we eat," said Sensu.

The second the last bowl left the table, Lee grabbed Sensu by the hand and led them out of the house. He chattered without missing a beat, illustrating life in the village over the past year while Sensu listened.

"Hey, Sensu?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you see dad?"

Sensu frowned. "No. Why?"

"Oh." Lee looked downcast. "The soldiers said you were captured, so dad went to look for you."

"And he hasn't come back?"

Lee shook his head, and Sensu marched with purpose back to the kitchen, where his mother had finished tidying the area.

"Sensu? I thought you and Lee were catching up."

Sela followed him to the dining area. Reaching for the sword he'd lain against the wall, Sensu said, "I'm going to find dad."

His mother begged him to stay for a frenetic moment. Gansu was bound to come home any day now, thanks to news of the Fire Lord ordering the release of all prisoners of war. If Sensu were to leave and Gansu to return in the meantime, there would be problems. Sensu conceded with a sigh and propped the sword back against the wall.

"What can I do?" he asked.

Sela looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"If dad hasn't been around, work must have piled up. How's the roof?"

"Your father mended it some, but it could use a little more work."

"All right."

Within the hour, he was hammering nails to secure the shoddy roof. Lee stood on the ladder to his side to provide a steady flow of conversation, a sound distraction until Sensu ghosted his hand across a batch of poorly attached panels. The nails were either crooked or in the wrong place.

"Did dad hire help?" he asked after Lee finished his current story.

Lee looked at the nails. With a dark countenance Sensu had never seen before, he said, "No."

Deciding that he wouldn't press the matter, Sensu set about wrenching the crooked nails out of the boards. Of course his father hadn't hired help: They didn't have the means of being luxurious, and craftsmanship this shoddy didn't belong to a proper expert. Before the draft, he might have teased the answer out of Lee, but for now he was too tired to pry.

After the apparently grim reminder, Lee vanished from the rooftop for the rest of Sensu's task. Sensu finished fixing somebody's poor mess on his own and then climbed down, only to blink at the object being thrust at his chest by Lee.

"Come on, show me some moves you learned in the army!"

It felt right to hold his sword again. Ever since the Fire Lord had ended the war, there had been no need to draw his blade in the company of peacekeeping escorts and fellow freed prisoners. While he'd been relieved, the change had been sudden. Now, with sword back in hand, he moved across the field and swung, thrust, pivoted as he'd learned under commissioned officers alongside his peers.

Sensu was no master of the sword by any means, but Lee seemed more than pleased as he watched his brother with large, adoring eyes.

"Can you show me more? Oh, how about a fancy technique you used to take down the toughest Fire Nation soldiers!"

Not thinking it necessary, Sensu sheathed his sword. "The war's over, Lee. If we're lucky, I won't ever have to do any of that again."

Lee deflated, his lips curling downward. "Aw, but I wanted to see."

Sensu laid a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Maybe next time. I'm going to help mom."

"With what?"

"Whatever she needs me to. I've been away too long."

"And then you'll hang out with me?"

"My time is now for you and mom. I'll take you up to the village tomorrow. How about that?"

Before the draft, Lee would have been thrilled to go. But months had passed and he no longer appeared too excited about going up to mingle with the villagers. He stared off to the side, his lips pressed together tightly.

"I guess that's okay."

"It'll be fun." Sensu started back to the house. "Now let's help mom with dinner."

"Okay."

Cooking was their mother's expertise, but that didn't mean they couldn't offer a hand or four. Sensu made the fire to heat the stove, and Lee set the table a few times until it looked just right. Seats were prepared for the four of them, though the last seat remained empty through the evening. The livestock were quiet while Sela waited before she partook in the meal.

"Hey, Sensu," Lee piped up after swallowing. "I have a question."

"What is it?"

"You got caught, right? What happened?"

Sela snapped to attention. "Lee!"

"Can you tell me?" asked Lee.

It wasn't a topic to broach over dinner in the presence of their distressed mother, who'd been dancing around it all afternoon. But the frank truth was that not a lot had happened - considering other worse fates that could have befallen him - and Sensu didn't think it was worth discussing. He concentrated on his chopsticks.

"There's not much to say. I wasn't in grave danger."

"So they didn't dress you up as a Fire Nation soldier and send you out unarmed?"

"Young man," Sela said in a firm but wobbly tone, "not another word. We are not having this discussion right now."

"It's okay, mom," said Sensu. He turned to Lee. "No, they didn't. They fed me and I was relocated a few times, but they didn't put me on the battlefield. That's how I'm here."

"You're here, because the Fire Lord let you," said Sela with finality.

Sensu did in fact owe his return to Fire Lord Zuko, although he didn't consider himself indebted to the man. Peace was a right the world had long earned, not the Fire Lord's to flaunt. Still, the new sovereign of the Fire Nation had set a firm foot down to make things right. Sensu had no qualms with agreeing with his mother; on the other hand, Lee's expression took on a sour turn.

"I  _hate_ the Fire Lord."

" _Lee_ ," warned Sela.

Then Lee did something he'd never done before. He set his chopsticks down and stormed away from the table before his mother or brother had finished eating. Half of his own food remained untouched, and it would stay so until it was time to clean up. Deafening silence fell in the room.

Sela buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Sensu. Lee . . . Your brother's been having a hard time adjusting."

Sensu had no idea what Lee was supposed to be adapting to, but he stopped eating and waited for his mother to recover. "Lee's still a kid. I'll talk to him."

With dinner all but ruined, Sensu excused himself once Sela gave a nod of approval. He noticed that the sword against the wall had vanished yet again and sped toward the field, where, sure enough, Lee was haphazardly going through forms with the weapon unsheathed. Sensu strode toward him while parting tall grass, making enough noise to alert Lee of his presence.

In contrast to his earlier outburst, Lee relinquished the sword with considerable sheepishness. They'd danced this dance before, with Sensu showing made up moves that felt right and Lee striving to imitate with thick branches. Now there was a real sword between them, and Sensu guided Lee's hands back to the hilt.

"We'll do a few moves together. Then we can talk about what's bothering you."

Lee's eyes brightened and he happily fell into place before Sensu. The concentrated metal drooped in Lee's childish hands, but he swung with all the vigor of youth as Sensu guided his strokes.

When they finally turned in for the night (they didn't get a chance to talk, after all), Sela stood in their path. Whereas Lee brushed past with a content smile, the tightness in his mother's face stopped Sensu in his tracks. She'd never disapproved of their little dance before.

"Lee threatened the soldiers in the village with a knife," she said.

"What? When?"

"After we heard that your unit had been captured, Lee went after them. He," Sela gulped, "they nearly drafted him for holding a weapon."

"But they didn't."

She shook her head. "Not by their choice."

"Mom, why did Lee have a knife?" She looked torn as she glanced down at her folded hands. Sensu continued, "Someone helped dad work on the roof. Was it them?"

"It was. A strange from another land. He covered for the kids in the village. Lee was so taken with him."

"But then he gave Lee a knife. That was stupid."

As a boy too young for war, Lee had no business holding a knife. As his baby brother, Lee had no place where he should point something sharp at another human being. He had a mischievous streak, but Sensu was fairly alarmed to hear that Lee had committed a deed so reckless - and annoyed that a bold stranger had encouraged it.

"Yes, it was," said Sela. Her gaze fell to Sensu's sword, and he tensed. "I was afraid I'd lose him, too, after what happened to you."

"I can stop. We won't do this again."

"It means a lot to Lee . . . "

"Lee can't always have his way."

"Thank you, Sensu." Sela sighed. "I know this is sudden, but I didn't think you and Lee would do this again so soon."

"It's all right, mom. You're right. The war's over, and that means it's time to stop playing with swords. I'll work on the farm starting tomorrow."

Sela brought a hand to her mouth and held back a sob. "If only your father could see you now."

"He will. I'll do his chores until he's back, and then we'll both work on the farm together. In the meantime, I'd like to eat my fill every day from now on: I missed your cooking," said Sensu.

His mother sobbed. The proverbial dam broke and she shed all the tears she'd been holding in her watery eyes all day. Sensu supported her by her shoulders and led her back home, where Lee had already retired to bed moments prior. Sela and Sensu sat in the dark, streaks of moonlight illuminating the former's hunched figure.

It wasn't long before she also went to bed, leaving Sensu to his own business in the dead of late night. Although he'd been tired since the end of the war, he wasn't drowsy. He dug around the house, fumbling around the dark until he found his mark - a long box, into which he laid his sword to rest. Then he packed the thing away, and from there spent the rest of his sleepless night looking out the window and breathing in the familiar air of his old life.

**Author's Note:**

> Sensu speaks in a rather clipped voice, although he used to be more animated back in the day. He didn't get out of the war unscathed. So he's a little subdued around his family and trying to get a feel for his home life again, but it's like watching an old home video and trying to relive the footage. Cue the repetition of "never before."
> 
> I do wish Lee and Song had gotten closure with Zuko.


End file.
